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Pod 4: Relationships
Warning: Contains Spoilers The four main characters of My Life Me, are united by their class's "pod" system, which requires them to sit and work together as a group. It is implied that Birch and Liam have known Sandra since early childhood (as Liam makes reference to a five-year-old Sandra, in the second season), but it is unclear when they met Raffi. Birch, Liam, Sandra and Raffi all interact in overly complex inner relationships within their group. Birch Small Liam Coll * Liam is Birch's cousin. They also draw (Birch) and write (Liam) a manga together, which was once published in Minute Magazine. Birch and Liam are shown frequently hanging-out at each other's houses together. The two make reference to each other's mothers being their aunts, so it is implied their mothers are sisters (and both aunt's "favourite niece/nephew"). Birch views Liam as both a pain in her side and a close relative/friend. * The two most often scheme with each other and have the other's back, although they occasionally turn on each other in the series. If Birch has to pick between assisting Liam or Raffi, she will usually pick Raffi over her cousin. They two often share and contribute to each other's neurotic behaviour and delusions, such scheming to break-up Sandra and Raffi in "Love is in the Air" * Birch and Liam often argue in terms of what they want in regards to their manga series: Birch stays very true to her artistic integrity, while Liam would prefer exposure (see: "Integrity Insmegrity"). * At the end of the day, the two are close and have each other's backs, but have no problem scheming against each other if the situation calls for it. However, they usually feel badly about it afterwards. Sandra le Blanc * Sandra is the second girl in Pod 4, besides Birch. She and Birch have a frenemy-type dynamic, although Birch is usually Sandra's primary target in teasing. Sometimes Sandra's hostility towards Birch is justified, as Birch tends to become self-involved and as the series progresses, it's revealed that although Sandra is conceited and self-involved herself, she generally wants the best for her pod. * It is unclear whether or not Sandra actually likes the presence of Birch, as she tends to make fun of her antics and throw both subtle and not-so-subtle jabs at her, but she will occasionally take Birch's side or look-out for her. * Birch and Sandra often put aside their differences to benefit the pod and when working together, they make a good team (see: "The Raffi Raffle"). * Birch is very easily manipulated by Sandra. She doesn't always have a positive response to Sandra's manipulative behaviour, but Sandra still tends to get the response out of her that she wants (see: "Rope Burn" and "Comic Chaos"). * It is revealed in "The Diary", that despite Birch's rivalry with Sandra, she admires her. * Birch is more hostile towards her, when Sandra dates Raffi in "Love is in the Air". Her combined annoyance towards Sandra and crush on Raffi further motivate her to sabotage them. However, she has forgiven Sandra for this, as in the next episode she is helping Sandra pursue another boy. * Birch is shown to have a small soft side for Sandra, looking-out for her when Sandra is tricked into falling for a player in "Cyranette". Raffi Rodriquez * Birch has a very obvious crush on Raffi, although it isn't very obvious to him, until the end of the first season, going into the second season. Liam and Sandra are well aware of her crush on Raffi, and Liam will frequently hint at it to him, but it often flies over his head. ** Raffi's manipulation of Birch in some episodes (i.e., flirting with her to distract her in some of Liam and/or Sandra's schemes), may not be attributed to his awareness of her feelings for him, but his overinflated ego and the assumption that like others, she will fall captive to his charm. * Birch will do nearly anything asked of her from Raffi and she spoils him in that regard. In "Rope Burn", he asks Birch for help picking-out a birthday gift for his grandmother and is irate with her, despite knowing that she has duties to attend to Sandra's injury, first and foremost. * Birch often draws pictures of Raffi, once for a holiday gift exchange (although this item never actually ended up being gifted to him), once submitted into an art contest and then often as private art for her own satisfaction. Her art of Raffi is considered private and she has gone to great extents to hide it from Liam and especially, Raffi, even if it will prevent progressing any form of romantic relationship with him (see: "A Bed for Raffi"). * Birch is desperate to impress Raffi, even if it means going to great extents and/or lying to do so (see: "Birch's Beef"). Sandra often attempts to sabotage Birch in her schemes after Raffi and occasionally Amelia does too. * Although Birch claims to be "in love" with Raffi, if he commits any actions against her, she has no problem fighting back. In "Big Man on Canvas" after she feels Raffi has stolen her artistic glory, she draws a picture of him as mutilated and an episode later, in The Pencil Assassin, she drew an egotistical caricature of him that was accidentally published in the Cosmos High school newspaper (note: these discretions seem to have no impact on her romantic obsession with Raffi, as she is still seen swooning over him even after he confronts her over her offensive drawing). * Birch is optimistic about her crush on Raffi and often believes him to be attracted to her as well (see: "Crushed" and "Raffi's Secret Love"). Whether he truly likes her back or not, is unconfirmed, but hinted that he might reciprocate. * Birch and Raffi do go on a date in "Family Tree", however the date does not go well, as Birch receives news she may be related to Raffi and rejects his advances. * By the end of My Life Me, it is unclear what Birch and Raffi's relationship is, but they have come close to kissing several times, including nearing-up to the series finale. Amelia * Unlike Birch's complex relationship with Sandra, Amelia and Birch are clear rivals. Although Amelia frequently puts down Birch and behaves as though she finds Birch insignificant, Amelia clearly sees Birch as a threat and the two challenge each other in many episodes * In The Big Switch, Mr. Towes makes Birch and Amelia switch pods and try to lead the other's group. They start as rivals, but end-up teaming-up together to complete their art project(s). * Although Amelia often comes out on top at first glance, Birch usually triumphs over her in the end. The best example of this would be from Star-Struck. Mr. Towes * Birch is very loyal to Mr. Towes, as he is her favourite teacher. In "Accept No Substitutes", when Birch fears Mr. Towes has lost his job, she attempts to petition to have him hired back as a teacher. Liam Coll Birch Small * Birch is Liam's female cousin. It is implied that they are related through their mothers, who are sisters and their aunts. * Liam writes for his manga series with Birch and she draws the manga, however, in "Holiday Hijinx" it is implied that Liam also can and/or enjoys drawing manga-style art. * While Liam is generally a good cousin/friend to Birch, he occasionally betrays or sabotages her. Knowing she has a crush on Raffi that she would prefer to keep as a secret, Liam alludes to her crush, by telling Raffi that Birch would be easily manipulated by him, because she is "so nice" to him (see: "The Diary"). * Liam finds Birch's crush on Raffi irritating, as Liam tends to be jealous over the attention that Raffi receives in general, but he has made attempts to set Birch up with Raffi (see: "Family Tree"). * Liam's nickname for Birch is "B-Tree" (i.e. "Birch Tree"). Sandra le Blanc * Sandra is Liam's pod-mate, one-time love-interest and neighbour. * Early into the series, it is obvious that Liam is scared of Sandra to some extent, but so are Birch and Raffi. * Liam enjoys Sandra's presence, although the two tease each other back and forth (Sandra's teasings being more extreme and often crushing Liam's ego). When she leaves their friend-group to hang-out with Amelia and the cheerleaders, he teams up with Birch to sabotage her and get her back into their pod. * Into the end of the show, specifically in "Love is in the Air", it is revealed that Liam has a crush on Sandra. This however, may be attributed to the "lovesickness" that is being passed around at Cosmos High due to spring flu-season. However, Liam has previously attempted to flirt with Sandra in other episodes, in "The Diary". * Liam respects Sandra and is anxious not to irritate her. In "Holiday Hijink", he makes Sandra a fancy jewelry set, then panicking and getting something else for her, worried that the gift is too big. * Liam questions Sandra's behaviour towards him any time she is affectionate, most likely to her cold and angry attitude. Raffi Rodriquez * Liam and Raffi get along very well, their friendship only occasionally interrupted by Liam's feelings of inferiority towards Raffi or Raffi's ego. * The two have paired-up in the past to stop the plans of Birch and Sandra. However, Raffi usually needs coaxing into doing any task he is asked of, because he seems to really only do an activity if it benefits him in some way (see: "Comic Chaos"). * Liam's jealousy of Raffi is a crucial part to the plot of a few episodes (see: "Liam the Hero" and "Here's Liam"). * Liam is shown to hold some feelings of hostility against Raffi, specifically in "Love is in the Air", when Raffi dates Sandra. Liam's jealousy of Raffi might have something to do with Sandra, although it likely does not, as Liam only seems interested in her romantically later into the series and in general, Liam is interested in the possibility of dating any girl (see: "The Makeover" and "Here's Liam"). Amelia * Amelia looks down on Liam, but he doesn't seem to care that much. He views her as an antagonist, as does Birch, and he often schemes against her to benefit his cousin. * In "Here's Liam", he asks Amelia on a date, to which she rejects. Liam, again, does not seem too pressed. Zeke * In "At Odds with the Pod", Liam and Zeke team-up on a revenge prank, although they are not usually friends. Sandra le Blanc Birch Small * Sandra finds Birch irritating and immature. She often likes to throw jabs at Birch, who is annoyed, but never truly resentful and her comments usually get disregarded or blown off. She has a few nicknames she uses to tease Birch with as well (example: B-Flat). * Despite her obvious annoyance of Birch, Sandra does make a huge effort to get Birch a gift she will love in their gift exchange, resorting to crying outside in the rain outside of an art-shop, when she cannot get Birch the art pens she asked for (see: "Holiday Hijinx"). * Although Sandra and Birch are often at odds, they team-up on occasion. Often these team-ups are initiated by Sandra's manipulation over Birch (see: "Comic Chaos"). * While Birch finds Amelia irritating, with much reason to, Sandra absolutely despises Amelia, to the extent, where she will go-out of her way to ruin Amelia's life and sabotage her (see: "The Pom-Pom Girl"). Sometimes, a common-disdain for Amelia, is what brings Sandra and Birch together (see: "Fish Fiasco"). * Most often, Birch finds herself in situations where she is begging for forgiveness from Sandra's wrath, however in "Cyranette", Sandra looks to Birch for help in going after her crush. Sandra is later angered when Tony (see: "Cyranette"), prefers Birch to her, but after Birch demonstrates that Tony is not the catch Sandra believes him to be, they team-up to get revenge on him. Liam Coll * Sandra finds Liam annoying, but much less than she finds Birch to be irritating. * Sandra once helped assist Liam in pursuing a romantic interest, alongside Raffi and Birch, proving she can be compassionate towards him (see: "The Makeover"). * Despite Sandra's hostility towards Liam, and other people and her pod-members in general, she is shown to be very affectionate and loving towards Liam in "Making a Mountain of a Molehill", when she thinks Liam may be in risk of dying. Her loving attitude towards him comes as such a shock to Birch, that Birch is suspicious of her behaviour. ** In this case, Sandra's hidden caring side towards Liam may have only been motivated by the fact that she later mentions her "fish that looks like Liam", had previously passed a few days previously. * Sandra s unaware of Liam's subtle romantic attraction to her, as it was most-likely short-lived. However, when she temporarily thinks Liam is attracted to her in the pilot episode, "Misconcepted Deceptions", she is polite to him in turning-down his advances, showing that she does have a softer side. Raffi Rodriquez * Raffi might be the only member of Sandra's pod, that she finds tolerable enough to independently spend time with. Despite the two's constant bickering, they are seen to be hanging-out alone often. * In times of crisis, Sandra usually seeks out Raffi's help (see: "Manga Slam"). * Raffi seems to be the only person who can really relate to Sandra on an emotional level too, as he teaches her ways to better express her many emotions and she rants to him sometimes (see: "The Pom-Pom Girl" and "The Diary"). * Although Raffi is a lot nicer than Sandra, he is a bit egotistical like her and the two often enjoy teasing Birch and Liam together. * Unlike Birch, Sandra objects to the idea of being romantically involved with Raffi and often finds herself in situations with him that are of a romantic context. * In "Misconcepted Deceptions", an awkward situation leads Sandra to believe Raffi is romantically pursuing her. She turns him down, then learning he did not send the flirtatious messages to her that she thought he did. * Later on, in "The Pom-Pom Girl", the thought of marrying Raffi horrifies Sandra. She also objects to kissing him for Liam's film, in "There's No Business...". * However, in "Love is in the Air", Sandra's objection changes. To Birch and Liam's dismay, Amelia and Antwon convince Raffi and Sandra that they are the second best-matched couple in school. Sandra instantly rejects the idea of dating Raffi, but after thinking it over, she realizes she has feelings for him and asks him out. The two go on a date, cuddling, hand-holding and nearly kissing, before Birch and Liam sabotage them. ** Sandra's romantic attraction to Raffi in this episode is disregarded by her, personally, as she comes to the conclusion that the feelings she thought she had developed for him, were actually just cold symptoms. Amelia * Sandra hates Amelia to the extent, where she is willing to fake a personality, assimilate herself into Amelia's clique, steal her boyfriend and ultimately ruin her social life (see: "The Pom-Pom Girl"). Likely, this is because Amelia is a stuck-up popular girl and Sandra is into skateboarding and objects anything overly feminine. * Despite their hate for each other, Sandra and Amelia have very similar personalities, which is probably why they clash. Raffi Rodriquez Birch Small * Raffi is shown to be oblivious to Birch's obvious crush on him, as he is usually too self-absorbed to notice her constantly fantasizing over him, even publicly. He sometimes manipulates her, but this can usually just be attributed to Raffi's ego: he assumes more girls fawn over him anyway and sees Birch as no exception. * Whether or not Raffi returns Birch's affections tend to be a significant plot point in My Life Me. It is hinted that her perhaps does, as he often comes very close to kissing her. * Raffi is aware that he has some type of power over Birch, whether it be because of her crush on him or general admiration. He knows he can use this to his advantage and often he does. * Raffi values Birch's opinion and he admires her for having integrity (see: "Big Man on Canvas" , "Rope Burn", "Integrity Insmegrity", etc.). * In "Family Tree", Liam tricks Raffi into going-out with Birch. Liam convinces Raffi that Birch has a crush on a bad-boy they go to school with and in order to prevent her from pursuing him, Raffi asks her out. However, later into their date, Raffi is frustrated with Birch for rejecting his advances (see Birch's section). When she finally reciprocates, Raffi cuts their date short, as he realizes Birch was never interested in the other boy at school and Raffi says they don't need to date anymore or "ruin their friendship". Obviously, this angers Birch, but oblivious Raffi doesn't notice. * Nearing the end of the series, it is hinted that Raffi may return Birch's feelings, as they lean-in and nearly kiss (they were stopped by a commotion). Liam Coll * Raffi sees himself as better than Liam, but not above Liam. He sometimes makes subtle jabs at Liam, but Raffi doesn't notice that he's being mean, because his ego permits him from it (see: "The Raffi Raffle"). * Raffi once helped assist Liam in pursuing a romantic interest, alongside Sandra and Birch. He probably did this both out of the kindness of his heart and because he views himself as an expert on woman (see: "The Makeover"). * Raffi will team-up with Liam, occasionally, but he often has to be manipulated or bribed into doing so. * Raffi goes to great lengths to acquire the right gift for Liam in their holiday gift exchange (see: "Holiday Hijinx"). * Raffi often goes over to Liam's house to play video games, meaning they are friends outside of school and their pod-group as well. Sandra le Blanc * Sandra is perhaps the only person who Raffi appears to help completely unmotivated and the two of them spend time together outside of school. When Sandra loses her MP3 player, Raffi helps her search the entire town for it and he seems to have no objection spending time helping her (see: "Manga Slam"). * Quite often, Raffi aims to please Sandra. In "The Diary", Sandra doesn't want to help Birch search for her diary, because they will be late for a movie. Raffi takes her hand, promises her they'll make it and even offers to pay for her ticket. * Despite this, like Birch and Liam, Raffi does seem to fear Sandra a little (see: "The Pom-Pom Girl"). * Raffi and Sandra seem to have a close and sometimes flirtatious relationship. He has referred to her as "My Dear" in the past. * In "Love is in the Air", Amelia and Antwon tell the group's pod, that Raffi and Sandra are the second most eligible couple at Cosmos High. Raffi appears irate, when Sandra objects, however he agrees to go on a date with her after she realizes she likes him. On his date with Sandra, Raffi seems fairly oblivious to her advances, until they leave the theatre, holding hands and realize they have a lot in common at the cafe. Before kissing, however, their date is sabotaged by Birch and Liam, who are jealous. Sandra abandons their date, blaming her sudden-infatuation with Raffi on a flu. The other couples at school have all been suffering from love sickness, like Sandra. ** While Sandra had been suffering from a flu, Raffi was the only one shown to not have come down with any flu-symptoms prior to his date with her, meaning his romantic feelings for Sandra might have been genuine -- especially considering, he still makes a subtle romantic effort with he after her conclusions have been drawn. However, as Sandra ended their brief relationship, it is uncertain. * Raffi objected to dating Birch (see: "Family Tree") because he "didn't want to ruin their friendship", however he had no issue with dating Sandra, which may mean he does have a romantic interest in her. Amelia * Amelia has made some romantic advances towards Raffi, however he seems oblivious to it and uninterested. Liam has previously mentioned that Raffi has no interest in dating. Lulu & Friends * Lulu and her friends, are three girls who have obsessive and stalker-esque crushes on Raffi. Unlike Birch, Raffi has no real connection with these girls. * Raffi is aware he is attractive to these girls and other girls, but he simultaneously seems oblivious to it.